Fiji Shrikebill Clytorhynchus vitiensis Scientific name definitions

18–19 cm; 29·2 g. Large, rather featureless, dull brownish monarch; large wedge-shaped bill with slight hook at tip, surrounded by rictal bristles. Nominate race is dull dark grey-brown above, paler below, with greyish tinge on belly, outer tail feathers sometimes with buff tips; iris brown; bill black with pale edging; legs blue-grey. Distinguished from similar ­female C. nigrogularis mainly by smaller size and less heavy bill. Sexes alike. Immature is similar to adult. Races differ mainly in subtle details of bill, coloration and size: buensis slightly larger than nominate, paler above, with olive wash, greyer sides of head, underparts more olive-buff; <em>layardi</em> more rufous above than previous, underparts more ochre; wigles­worthi darker on face and greyer below than previous, tail shorter with smaller buffy white tips; pontifex similar to buensis but purer grey below and with whiter crissum; vatuanus like pontifex but slightly larger, underparts slightly washed buff; nesiotes differs from previous by duller rufous upperparts, paler grey below, especially on belly, larger and greyer below than nominate; heinei differs from previous by smaller size, darker grey-black face, uniformly paler grey below, and larger white tips to rectrices; fortunae is the palest and smallest race, with grey face, bright upperparts and more white below than other races; <em>brunneus </em> like nominate but smaller, with longer bill, lighter upperparts and buffier underparts ; powelli darker and more uniform sooty grey; keppeli even darker than previous, with dark grey-brown underparts, buffy white tips of rectrices almost absent.

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Dense native forest and thicket, but frequents any well-wooded areas or thick scrub, from sea-level to 1200 m.

Sedentary.

Largely insectivorous, including grubs and probably caterpillars. Frequently seen in pairs; often joins mixed-species flocks with other monarchids, white-eyes (Zosterops) and whistlers (Pachycephala). Forages at any height, but more often close to large tree limbs, working its way up tree while gleaning and probing, before flying to next tree. Noisily investigates dead vegetation , probing into dead or curled leaves , pulling apart vine tendrils, and tearing off loose bark; insects disturbed are caught as they move away. Fairly inquisitive; responds to imitations of call.

Long drawn-out wavering, melodious whistling “teee-ooooo” call, with several variations, easily imitated; another call is a sweet, musical, plaintive (not quavering) “tlee ee oo”; alarm series a repeated harsh “tcher tcher er-ree”, used in territorial disputes; scolding call a harsh “cha-cha-cha” or accelerating “cha-cha-chuchuchuhi”. Calls not easily distinguishable from those of C. nigrogularis, but may be downslurred more at end of wavering series, and slightly higher-pitched.

Breeds Jun–Jan. Nest a deep cup made of vine tendrils, rootlets and fine plant stems, lined with fine fibres and decorated with pieces of bark, placed 2–3 m above ground in fairly thick foliage, usually well camouflaged in fork of tree or vine tangle. Clutch usually 2 eggs, white, with dark speckles mainly around larger end; no information on incubation and nestling periods.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Restricted-range species: present in Fiji EBA and Samoan Islands EBA, also in Rotuma Secondary Area, Wallis and Futuna Secondary Area and Tonga Secondary Area. Generally not common. In Fiji has apparently disappeared from Mamanucas and Yasawas, and absent from some islands where it may be expected to occur; remains widespread and relatively common on the main islands of Fiji, where common to uncommon in all 13 Important Bird Areas within its range. Patchily distributed in Tonga, where range has contracted significantly owing to deforestation, understorey clearance by pigs and goats, and predation by cats and rats (Rattus); now gone from Tongatapu, Eua, Vavau and several small islands in Haapai; by 1991 had disappeared from some eight Tongan islands where known to be present in 1925, and by 1996 gone from a further two islands. In American Samoa, thought to be extinct on Tau, but fairly common on Ofu and Olosega in 2006 (4 Pratt, H. D., and J. C. Mittermeier (2016). Notes on the natural history, taxonomy, and conservation of the endemic avifauna of the Samoan archipelago. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 128(2):217–241. Close ).